George benton



(No Model.)

G'. B. SHEARER. HARP.

No. 593.818. Patented Nov. 16,1897.

Nrrn TATES PATENT rrron GEORGE BENTN SHEARER, OF ONEONTA, NEW YORK.

HARP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 593,818, dated November16, 1897.

. Application filed May 21,1896. ltenewed April 3, 1897: Serial No.630,!332. (No model.)

To all whom it may coi worn:

Be it known that I, GEORGE BENTON SHEARER, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Oneonta, in the county of Otsego and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Harps; and Ido declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description ofthe invention, such as Will enable others skilled in the art'to which itappertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the figures of reference marked thereon,which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to that class of stringed instrument-s Operating onthe principle of the harp, and has for its object to provide improvedmeans for sustaining the damper or muting bars, the Construction beingsuch as to permit the muting-bar to be shifted longitudinally, so as tobring it into position that Will cause its clamping or muting pads,whendepressed, to contact with more or less of the strings, as desired.

It has also for its object to provide an improved construction wherebythe muting-bars will be held to their various longitudinal adjustnents,at the same time permitting the bars to be easily shifted when desired.

To the accomplishment of the foregoin g and such other objects as mayhereinafter appear the invention consists in the Construction and alsoin the combination of parts hereinafter particularly described, and thensought to be specifically defined by the claims, reference being' had tothe accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof, and in which- Figure 1is a plan View of the meloharp; Fig. 2, a longitudinal section throughthe muting-bar bridge; Fig. 3, a perspective of one muting bar, enlargedscale, showing two methods of applying the supporting-springs; Fig. 4, aperspective of one end support for the bridge, on an enlarged scale, andFig. 5 a plan view of another Construction of bridgesupport. v

In the drawings the numeral 1 designates the top of the mutin g-barbridge, 2 the u pright supports therefor, and 3 the sounding-board,

of the instrument. i

The muting-bars are designated by the numeral 4 and are provided withthe push-buttons 5, the shanks of which pass through the elongated slots6 in the top of the mutingbar bridge, so as to permit a longitudinalmovement of the' muting-bars, said bars being provided with thenuting-pads or dampers 7, which are arranged on the respective bars, sothat they will come in contact With the necessary strings 8 to form thedesired chord when the damper-bar is pressed down so as to bring itsdampers in contact with the strings which are to be muted. The damperswill also be so positioned that by shifting the damper-barslongitudinally the dampers will contact with certain other strings ofthe series, so as to produce different chords from those produced whenthe dampers are in contact with certain other strings of the series, aswill be understood by those skilled in the art.

The damper bars Will be supported by springs which will permit the barsto be shifted longitudinally, said springs thus not only constitutingsupports for the damperbars, but also the means by which the bars arerestored to their normal position out of contact With the strings. Thesprings which I have devised for this purpose are designated by thenumeral 9. One of these springsis connected to each end of a damper-barand extends beyond the end of the bar and into a recess or chamberformed in each upright support of the bridge, so that the spring maymove in and out of the support as the damper-bar is shifted back andforth. Theconstruction of spring which I have found best for thispurpose is illustrated in the drawings and is formed of wire of suitablestrength and elasticity, which is bent so as to form a loop, said springat` one point in its length being formed into a coil 10, which givesgreater elasticity, to the spring, and while it is much preferred toform' it with this coil, still the same might be omitted withoutdeparting from other features of my invention involved in the formationand application of this spring. I prefer to attach the spring to the thebody of the bar.

IOO

each spring'passes through a vertical slot 13, formed in the face of thesupports of the muting-bridge, and each support back of the Slots in itsface is formed with a recess or chamber 14, adapted to receive theportion of the spring which extends into the same and permit it to moveback and forth therein without binding contact with its walls. I preferto form these recesses or chambers by boring one or more vertical boresin the support, and where two or more bores are made, in order to formthe recess or chamber, to have one intersect the other so that theseveral bores together will form an elongaied chanber or recess for theextended portion of the spring. The under side of the spring will haveits hearing in the bottom of the slot 13, the bottom of the slotterminatin g at such point that when the spring rests thereon thedanpers or muting-pads will be held above and out of contact with thestrings. I prefer to have the springs 9 to fit snuglyin the slot 13, soas to prevent slipping or vibration of the damperbars, but not so snuglyas to nterfere with the easy movement of the bars in being shifted backand forth across the strings. It will be observed that this Constructionenables the bars to be shifted longitudinally, so that their dampers maybe brought in contact with different strings of the series, so that onechord will be produced when the bar is in one position and a differentchord when the bar is shifted across the strings. W'hile the springspermit this movement of the bars, they at the same time constitute themeans for restoring the bars to their normal position above the stringswhen they are released 'from contact with the strings by taking thefinger from off the push-button.

For the purpose of holding each danperbar in the position to which itmay be shifted across the strings I eorrugate or fiute the under partsof the springs and taper or bevel the bottom of each slot, so as to forman inelined projection which will enter one of the i'lutes orcorrugations in the springs and thus serve to temporarily lock or fastenthe bar in the position to which it may be shifted. The corrugations inthe springs are designated by the numeral 15, and the bevcledprojec'tions which enter the same bythe n umeral 16. The elasticity ofthe springs allows them to yield, so that the eorrugated or iutedportion is easily drawn over the beveled projections,and the expansionof the springs will cause them to hug snugly to the projections inwhichever eorrugation or fiute the projection may for the time lie. Theprojections 10 may be bevelcd on either or both faces, as desired, andmay be faced with rawhide 17 or other suitable material, so as toai'ford a suitable bearing-surface. This corrugati ng or fiuting of thespring serves a very useful purpose; but it is obvious that howeverdesirable it is to employ this 'feature other features of the in-Vention can be employcd without this with good results.

Particular attention is direeted to that feature of the invcntion whichinvolvcs the employment of a spring-support that pernits the damper barto be shifted across the strings and at the same time to movevertically, so as to contact with the strings and be moved out ofcontact therewth, the means for effecting this being a spring, whichconstitutes at the same time a support and which is moved with thedamper-bar in its backand-forth movement and is guided in its movementby the slot in the bridge-support.

Another particular feature to which attention is directed is thecorrugating or fiuting of the springsupport by which the danperbar isheld in its adjustnent and a springpressure is exerted between suchcorrugated portion and the tapercd or beveled hearing with which thespring-support contacts.

hen the supporting springs are connected to the side of the muting-bar,I employ a pin 10 above the top member of the spring to form a hearingtherefor. This is not necessary where the spring is inserted in a slot,as the top wall of the slot will form the hearing.

I have illustrated and described with particularity the preferreddetails of eonstruetion of the several parts and their arrangement; butit is obvious that changes can be made therein without departing 'fromthe es sential features of the invention.

Having described my invention and set 'forth its merits, what I claimis- 1. `The combination with a muting-biidge, its supports, and avertieally and longitudinally movable damper-bar, ol' a spring connectedto and movable with and afl'ording a vertical elastic support for thedanper-bar and projected beyond the end of said bar lengthwise thercofand into the bridgesupport in which it is guided and has a slidingmovement, substantially as and for the purposes described.

2. The combination with a muting-bridgc, its supports, and alongitudinally and vertically movable damper-bar, of a spring connectedto and ai fording an elastic support 'for said bar and projected fromthe bar into the bridge-support in which it is guided and has a slidingmovement, said spring having a portion thereof [iuted or corrugatcd, anda bearing for said corrugated portion to contact with, substantially asand for the purposes described.

3. The combination of a muting-bridge, a vertically and longitudinallymovable damper-bar formed with a spring-support pro jected from its en dlen gthwise of the bar, and a support for the muting-bridge formed witha slot to receive the projecting spring and a chanber or recess in thesupport back of the slot for the reception of the spring, substantiallyas and for the purposes described.

4. The combination of a muting-bridge, a vertically-movable damper-bar,asupportingspring secured to and projected lengthwise IIO 593,&18 e 3from each end of the bar, and supports for the muting-bridge formed ontheir faces adjacent to the ends of the bar with slots into which theprojected ends of the supportingsprings eXtend, substantiaily as and forthe purposes described.

5. The combination of a muting-bridge, a vertically and longitudinailymovable damper-bar, a spring projected from the damperbar lengthwise ofthe bar and having its bearingin the bridge-support, a portion of saidspring being corrugated or fiuted, and a bearing for the corrugatedportion of the spring to contact with, substantiaily as and for thepurposes described.

6. The combination of a muting-bridge, a vertically and longitudinailymovable damper-bar, a spring carried thereby in the Verticai andlongitudinal movement of the bar, and a member for said spring to engagewith, substantially as and for the purposes described.

7. The combination of a muting-bridge, a vertically and longitudinaliymovable damper-bar, a corrugated or fluted spring carried by thedamper-bar, and a member for the corru gated portion of said spring toengage with, substantially as and for the purposes described.

8-. The combination of a muting-bridge, a damper-bar, a corrugated orfiuted springsupport for the bar, and a member to engage thecorrugations of said spring-support to retain the bar in position at thepoint of contact between said member and the springsupport,substantially as and for the purposes described.

9. The combination of a muting-bridge, a damper-bar, a spring connectedto said bar and eXtendin g lengthwise thereof, and a bearing for saidspring to rest upon, said bearing and spring being free from a fixedconnection with each other, substantiaily as and for the purposesdescribed.

In testimony whereof I afiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE BENTON SHEARER.

Witnesses:

RALPH HARDY REED, SEYMOUR BARTLETT SHEARER.

